‘Tis the season to be jolly. ‘Tis also the season to bake trays upon trays of cookies. 

Out of all desserts, biscotti are a must-have for Italian christmases.  This year, I wanted to hold onto this tradition, but shake it up a bit.  Instead of orange peel, why not add grapefruit zest for a floral touch?  And building off of that, how about some coconut flakes too? Above all, why not bake it just once? Gasp!

These cookies are what my mom calls “mangia mangia”, loosely translating to something you can’t stop eating.  They’re crunchy, but have a nice chew to the interior.  The finely chopped chocolate adds some smoothness in contrast to the cornmeal and flaked coconut. 

The word “biscotti” means twice-baked in Italian. In my afternoon tea post, I made these vegan biscotti with gluten-free all purpose flour, and adding nutmeg and orange zest. Reading on the history of biscotti, instead of being the sweet cafe-style biscotti we’re accustomed to today, I learned that the Ancient Roman biscotti were convenient snacks for travelers, as they were unleavened and long-lasting. With the Renaissance, biscotti had a revival, thanks to a Tuscan baker who served them with local sweet wine. Therefore, you may see in some Italian restaurants biscotti being served with wine, in addition to with some espresso. Typically, biscotti are flavored with almonds, and dried fruits. As a side note, biscotti (in the shape of fingers) are actually called cantucci in Italy. The term biscotti refers to any type of crunchy cookie (no matter shape), similar to how the Brits use the word biscuit.

Clearly, the nut cracker wanted an unoscotti too 🙂

A fun variation could be to use a flavored chocolate, such as orange chocolate, or perhaps coconut chocolate. 

Enjoy these with a tiny cup of espresso (or sweet wine).